So this story starts off about 10 years or so ago give or take (god my memory has gotten horrible), when my local friend Todd found the Jim Morris B/A dragster and posted some photos he had come across of that truck (you can find his restoration thread here https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/official-b-altered-truck-restoration-thread.427766/ ). One of the historical photos he had come across showed his truck sitting in the pits next to another B/A truck named the Daddy Rabbit. I immediately fell head over heals in love with the Rabbit and spent the next few days dreaming of finding it and fixing it up. No one seemed to know anything about the truck everywhere I asked. Fast forward a few years (4,5, or even 6 maybe. Remember my memory is shit. We'll blame that on the traumatic brain injury for now. LMAO!) and Todd calls me and says the truck was found and was sitting at a local trucking company about 15 to 20 miles away. So I hop in the truck and haul freight about 110 up I-64/I-81 trying to get to this thing only to find it's already gone. We get in touch with the guy that found it via Instagram and I start asking if he would be interested in selling it or trading it. Of course he was more interested in fixing it up. The "fixing it up" seemed to be more in the direction of turning it into a rat rod, so I eventually gave up asking as the thought of this truck getting rat rodded made me sick to my darn stomach. Apparently Todd was trying to get the truck for me too, but money and trades held no sway over the current owner. Fast forward a few more years and there is now a new owner and a solid dude. I run a Facebook page/group called "Memories from Eastside Speedway" about my hometown track where this truck and so many other amazing racers and vehicles frequented over the years (I live about 7 miles south of the track) and the current owner posted some photos of it there asking if anyone knew anything about it. It was sold sometime in the 60s (assuming late 60s) to some folks in Broadway VA and they changed the name to "Swindler" and ran a 392 Hemi with a Torqueflite trans. We have tracked down the owners that ran it under the Swindler colors and I spoke to the brother of one of the owners who said he would pass my number on to his brother to call me back. Hopefully we can find some info there and maybe track back a bit more of the history. The truck supposedly has a tri-five Chevy (I'm not that familiar with them) rear end and steering box (steering box looks later than tri-five to me though). From the original picture of the truck being towed into the pits on the trailer it looks like the engine might have been a tri-five 265 or even a 283 with a two barrel carb, but it's so hard to tell from that old photo. Hopefully someone can help me track down the original owner and we can shed some light on the mystery. I honestly think restoring the truck to either race trim would be freaking amazing, but I'm leaning toward the Daddy Rabbit for a few reasons. One is it seems everyone thinks 392 Hemis are made of gold these days whereas I could pick up a 265/283 fairly cheap compared to the Hemi. There's also the history factor. While the Swindler is pretty awesome as well, the Daddy Rabbit race trim dates back to around 1964 which is when the track it raced at actually opened. There's also the fact that I only knew it as the Daddy Rabbit when I first saw photos of it so I fell in love with that version and that's the one I've been chasing. For now the plan is to keep researching and get it into the garage soon to start a teardown, documentation, and clean up of everything. It's going to be a long process, and hopefully I can do the little truck justice, but I'm going to take my time on it and not rush things. The truck is a total freaking hack job, but I absolutely love it regardless. That's the way kids built these things in that timeframe. They were poor and young living in the Shenandoah Valley, trying to race with what they could scratch up. I'm assuming they probably got a good deal on a wrecked 34 Ford and a wrecked tri-five Chevy, cut the two vehicles all to hell, and made one bitchin' dragster out of them. The rear frame rails have been hacked off and C channel put in their place. What looks like galvanized plumbing pipe has been used for traction bars to the rear. The inside of the driver door was torched off and the door bolted shut with a small metal bracket and some screws. Simple yet effective by early 60s standards. I'll update as I make progress, just don't expect a quick and dirty resto. Hope you guys enjoy. Drag Strip (1038) by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:07 PM Daddy Rabbit 0001 by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:07 PM 428709870_7575839589101783_2361026008523923910_n by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:05 PM 428663086_7575839569101785_2151212528662967743_n by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:05 PM 20240318_191554 by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:05 PM 20240318_191529 by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:05 PM 20240318_191516 by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:05 PM 20240318_191510 by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:05 PM 20240318_191445 by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:05 PM 20240317_182721 by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:05 PM 20240317_182709 by KurseD posted Mar 20, 2024 at 8:05 PM
No real progress yet. Been tinkering with my Chevelle, the house, and some 3D printing stuff between lots of trips to docs and hospitals over past few months. Got hooked up with some proper front wheels and roller tires from my buddy Todd. I'm not sure if they are the exact same as the original front rims, but they're darn sure closer than the wide turbines and all terrain tires one of the last few guys put on the thing. Hopefully get up north and talk to the original builder and get some good notes, stories, and pics of the truck in the old days when he ran it. I'm planning on taking it to the Rockabilly Hot Rod Rumble at Summer Duck Dragway near Fredericksburg VA in late September. Just sitting it out for a "pre-restoration" display. Hopefully be able to find some parts at the swap meet there too. Screenshot_20240825_154853_Gallery by KurseD posted Aug 25, 2024 at 8:39 PM
Missed earlier posts. Glad to see now. Impressive stance the way the cab stands alone. Keep after it. Good luck with research. May cheap parts ( period correct ) come your way.
Thanks for the positive responses guys. I was able to head up to Broadway VA this morning to meet with Mr. Jack Wenger of WW Motor Cars restoration shop. He was the original builder and is getting up there in age (I think he's around 77 years old now). Had a great time sitting on the bench outside the office and shooting the breeze about old cars, racing, some of the local racing legends from back in the day, etc. He's understandably having a hard time remembering some of the original parts that it is now missing, but was able to provide a lot of insight and info still. I'm planning on displaying it at the Rockabilly Hot Rod Rumble in Fredericksburg VA at Summerduck Dragway on September 28th in an "as found / pre-restoration" display. Hopefully I'll be able to find a few of the parts I will need for putting it all back together at the swap meet while I'm there. So Jack built the dragster when he was a teenager in the early/mid 60's using a junkyard 1934 Ford pickup and a wrecked 1957 Belair. It ran the stock 34 frame with a small section cut off the rear rails. The Belair donated the 283 engine, 3 speed trans, steering box, rearend, and steering wheel. He sourced the seat and radiator from "some kind of import, probably a Renault" he said and painted the truck cab 1965 Pontiac GTO "Mayfair Maize" pale yellow using an old vacuum set on reverse. He said he found some old water pipe out of a barn that was being torn down that he sourced for the roll bars and convinced his high-school shop teacher to let him bring the truck in to utilize their welder after school to weld in the roll bars and weld the 57 Belair rear directly to the rear frame rails. He said it was running 15x8 reverse steel rims he had bought from one of the local speed shops and 15x8 slicks out back. He said the 16" wheels that I just got for it do look like the correct wheels for the front, huge thanks to fellow H.A.M.B. member "VA HAMB" from Shenandoah for hooking me up with the pair. I think they're 48-52 Ford F1 16x4.5" wheels, but not 100% certain, maybe someone that knows those rims better than I do can chime in on that. Jack said the bed that was on it when he was running it was just a plywood box, and he ran it with no windows in the cab. He couldn't remember what the sticker on the frame rail was for, maybe one of you guys recognize it, but I know it's a long shot since the pic is so blurry. He did say he has a collage of other pictures at his house and he would try to make duplicates for me which would be freaking awesome. He laughed about it being so cobbled together back then and said it wasn't anything special to most folks at the track, but he said he did have one hell of a good time racing it. The Jim Morris dragster that Todd (VA HAMB) restored had a lot more time, effort, and money put into it back then and has a ton of trophies to show for it, but he wanted to get out there and race along side folks like Jim that he looked up to, so he did what he could with what he had at the time. He said he thinks he has one trophy he won with the truck at home, but honestly I think the fact that a teenager in the 60's could throw together an altered with minimal skill, tools, and knowledge of it all and still go out and run with those guys and have a good time is freaking awesome. It's the history like that and all the cool old stories of drag racing back then that I really enjoy. Back before every track was overrun with 50 fox body Mustangs that all look the same and a million turbo LS powered whatever boxes. I printed off a couple of the photos at Wally World on my way home, then stopped by the craft store and picked up a couple frames and a photo album to document the resto process as well. I'll drop back in here from time to time and update when progress is made. 20240904_110332 2 by KurseD posted Sep 4, 2024 at 6:02 PM 20240904_110337 by KurseD posted Sep 4, 2024 at 6:02 PM
Vehicle, check, build plan, check, engine, pending, rear axle, pending, color, it’ll buff out, suspension, it’s a dragster people, rubber room in case it all goes south, check, seatbelts, double check, roll cage, pending. Carry on.
I found out what the mystery decal was thanks to some keen eyed fellas in a Facebook model car group. I knew I vaguely recognized the design, but couldn't put my finger on it for the life of me. Once the first guy pointed out that he thought it was a Monroe shocks decal, I instantly pictured it in my head, and sure enough he was right on the money. So next item I'm having one heck of a hard time finding right now are two steel 15 x 8 true reverse rims. Everything I'm finding online are smoothies and plain OE style wheels labeled as reverse, which all still have the normal step down found on the front of the OE rim hoops. The reverse rims that were on the Daddy Rabbit were smooth conical transition from the center to the outer lip. I tried e-mailing back and forth with Wheel Smith, but the chrome rims they are telling me they have that are "reverse" still look like the OE rims with a step down in the hoop, not smooth like the old school reverse rims I'm familiar with. I sent them a response pointing out the fact that their "chrome reverse" rim had the same exact step down as the OE rims, guy sends me a response without any text, just an attached picture of their smoothie rim. WTF? Why does no one these days know what the heck a reverse rim really was back then? Anyone have a line on two correct rims? Best shots I have of the originals so far. You can see the more smooth transition to the hoop with no step down. [ Shot of the "chrome reverse" that Wheel Smith sells (I added the arrow to point out the step down area I'm talking about). Another area I'm having a hard time with is the radiator. All Mr. Wenger said was "I think I got it out of some sort of 50's import I found in the junkyard." I was assuming he probably got it out of the same Renault he found the bucket seat in, but all the 50's Renault radiators I see online aren't quite the same. The only pics I have of the original radiator are hard to tell, but to me it looks like the top inlet is on the right/passenger side, and the bottom inlet I can't see at all. I've looked at pictures of 100s of radiators from the 50's and early 60's online and my best guess is a late 1950's Austin Healey 100-6 radiator. I am betting if he snagged the radiator out of one of those, he probably grabbed the bucket seat out of it as well. 1959 Austin Healey 100-6 radiator I found online sure looks right to me. And a 1959 Austin Healey 100-6 bucket seat for reference as well.
HOLY CRAP! Man when it rains it pours, but sometimes the stars just seem to align and when they do the help from fellow hot rodders and car enthusiasts never ceases to amaze me. I honestly thought these late 50's Austin Healey radiator and seat would be unobtanium and that I would probably have to settle with making some close homemade replicas of them. The few I was finding online were selling for concourse collector car prices. Went to a local restoration shop about 5 minutes from home that specializes in Triumphs, but also restores other old European imports. I thought the owner might have a connection to someone who might have these parts in rough restorable (aka cheap) condition. Little did I know this guy actually has his own HUGE parts hoard for restoring these old cars. 2 minutes into digging and we found the exact radiator and bucket seat in really darn good condition. Best part is he sold them to me for a freaking steal of a deal compared to the restoration parts I was finding online. So that takes care of the two parts I thought would be hardest to find. On to the 15x8 reverse rims and pie crust slicks. I spoke with the Daniel at Towel City Tire and he actually found me two 15x8 pie crust slicks from the blemish pile that will work perfectly for mockups and rollers. Heading to NC to grab those from him on Thursday. Also speaking to a fellow H.A.M.B. member about two 15x9 reverse rims with tri-five Chevy centers that aren't 100% the same as the original rims he ran on it, but they will also be perfect for mockups and rollers until I find or build the correct ones. Hopefully if I can get the rims in the mail quick enough, the thing will at least be sitting on proper wheels and tires when I take it to the Rockabilly Hot Rod Rumble later this month in Fredericksburg VA. Also got two of the original Monroe decals that were on the frame from a seller on eBay, but forgot to take pics of those. I'll grab pics of those for the next post. I did however just get an e-mail from Jack's wife Libby with some of the old photos of the Daddy Rabbit that she had on her computer there at the shop. She also threw in a few of another car (He said a 1950 Willys Aero, but I think 52 was the first year for the Aero) he ran here locally at Eastside Speedway in Waynesboro VA, as well as a rail style dragster chassis he had at one point. As I was typing this thread, I actually got a phone call from Jack about some of the missing parts I forgot to ask him about when I saw him last. He said for a fuel tank he used one of the old Prest-O-Lite 1 gallon acetylene tank with a hand pump for the gas tank, a lap belt (probably from the 57 Belair) for safety restraint, and had a battery he could never keep charged in the bed (the bed box didn't even have a floor, just a mounting plate for the battery). It doesn't currently have any style of floor pan, but he said they just riveted in some sheet metal for the floor pan back then. He said the names on the back of the cab were all his buddies from school that pitched in (though he admitted a couple were better at standing around watching LMFAO! We all have those friends don't we) from back then being; Everett Carr, Larry Gray, Donald Frank, Robert Pye, and himself Jack Wenger. He said he will try to bring the other photos he has at home to the shop tomorrow and see if his helper can scan them for me.
Made it over to Leon's Salvage Yard in Culpeper VA this morning. Didn't find much, but I did pick up two white wagon wheels that appear to be 15x8s with what looks like the correct smooth tapered hoop. They do have different style centers, but the hoops appear to be exactly the same and the centers are going to get cut out and replaced with 55-56 Belair centers anyway. I also grabbed one Cragar (guessing) on a bias ply simply because it was dirt cheap and will look neat hanging in the rafters of the garage. LMAO!
I got the chance to take the truck to the Rockabilly Hot Rod Rumble at Summerduck Dragway and had a freaking blast. I got to meet a few old timers that remembered seeing the truck run in the 60's and 70's. Met a fellow H.A.M.B. member D-Russ. and got to learn a bit more about the truck in general. We think (I'll verify with Jack as soon as I can get back up there to talk to him again) the dual quad setup must have been off a Corvette as it looks like it was running dual Carters and aluminum vette valve covers. Also met a local old timer mechanic from Waynesboro who informed me that the weird ball valve hanging out of the master cylinder was not just something they found to block the hole off when they removed the front brakes. Apparently it had front brakes originally and they would have used the ball valve as a manual line lock for burnouts. I got the mockup rims from Wheel Smith and they arrived Thursday before the show, so I hit them with some rattle can really quick so I could get the slicks mounted on Friday. Took me a while driving around the county the Friday morning before the show to find a tire shop that wasn't scared to mount the pie crust slicks, but I finally got them mounted. I loaded them in the back of my Silverado along with a bunch of extra tools and a spare tire for the Chevy and headed up to the host hotel, leaving my flooded ditch in front of the house and praying it wouldn't get much higher before I got back home. We rolled into town around dusk and hit the Waffle House for some high quality grub. Headed out for the show around 5AM so I could try to get unloaded before the bulk of the other trailers and crowd arrived. Got everything unloaded in the fog and set up... then it dawned on me... I FORGOT THE DANG FLOOR JACK! DOH! So I ended up renting one from a guy in the swap meet for $10 (I would have tossed him some beer money for the favor anyway) and got the slicks mounted on the back. Had to sit for a long while after that, but I had a really darn good time. The Karb Kings put on the best damn show in VA every time they do one. I highly suggest making the trip to check it out next year, I'll definitely be going back as always. So now I'm taking a tiny break from the Daddy Rabbit so I can focus on gutting and renovating my front living room to turn it into an art studio before winter hits, then I'll get the truck into the garage for teardown. Hoping to go look at a 283 for it later this week or next week.
Headed to Richmond VA to a hot rod shop yesterday afternoon to look at a 1957 Belair 283. Fella said "It looks like it might have been rebuilt at some point, or at least freshened up. New freeze plugs and some RTV here and there." He said a customer had brought in a nice 57 and the engine had a mild top end tick, but didn't want to fool with the 283 anymore opting to drop in a new crate 383 stroker instead. So I snatched up the 283 for $500 and rolled home with it in the back of the SilverAYdo. Guy even throws a vintage aluminum fuel tank my way. It looks like a Moon style, but quite a bit longer. I'm guessing a 5 gallon. Got it unloaded and on the engine stand today. All the numbers look like it was a Flint built engine from January 5th 1957 (if I'm reading the numbers right). Casting# 3731548 on the rear, and stamped# FI05F or F105F on the pad up front. Head# 3748772 I'm not sure if they are original, but it's got a 4 barrel intake. Anyway we popped a valve cover off and it's pretty darn clean in there. Popped a few plugs out and borescope showed some nice crosshatching in the cylinder walls. Found one loose rocker already which would explain the tick. Damn brand new valve seals already seem to be leaking oil though, no biggie. Turned it over and pulled the oil pan and HOLY COW we got lucky! Brand new guts inside! All new crank, rods, pistons, cam, lifters, you name it. Barely looks to have any miles on it at all. So back together she'll go with some fresh gaskets, valve seals, and a new coat of paint. Then we'll store it for when the time comes to fire her up. Heading to West by-God Virginia tomorrow to look at a 3 speed trans with bellhousing and a Hurst floor shifter. Wish me luck on that.
Took a trip to Ohio (barely on the North side of the Ohio River across from WV) yesterday to grab some more junkity junk. Grabbed a 1957 Belair 3 speed with bellhousing and flywheel, a spare bellhousing, a Hurst floor shifter, and a 57 Belair steering wheel (correct wheel that Jack originally ran). I still need to make it up to talk to Jack again soon, so I'll see what kind of floor shifter he ran then. Can't wait to clean on the trans a little and get a peek inside to see what the gears look like.
Great finds! I have the 3731548 as well in a 57 210. I'll be looking forward to your build. Great pictures
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